Herbs top off summer fare

This is the best time of year for people who love food because fresh corn, tomatoes, green beans, squash, blueberries, watermelon and cantaloupe are plentiful.

They’re delicious by themselves, but they can taste even better with a sprinkle or two of fresh herbs.

Like vegetables and fruits, herbs are available at the farm stand or supermarket, but they’re best when snipped from a pot in your backyard and used immediately.

It’s a little late to start herbs from seeds for a nice harvest, but the plants are available at garden centers. Basil, thyme and rosemary can still be planted for good results, herbalist Melinda Boyer said.

In pots on the deck or patio, you can grow basil to make pesto; cilantro for salsa; sage to dry for Thanksgiving stuffing; rosemary to enhance grilled chicken breasts; and thyme for Cajun and Creole dishes. Plus, growing your own herbs can provide a significant cost savings from buying them in the store.

“Herbs like basil, thyme and rosemary make great container herbs for the urban dweller,” Boyer said. You can crowd them together in containers for better growth. Remember to prune and shape them to keep them producing foliage.

Boyer, owner of New Day Herb and Native Plant Farm, teaches herb classes for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Kentucky and has two Facebook pages devoted to herbs, The Country Herb Woman and Herb Lovers.

Boyer shares these tips for harvesting fresh herbs:

• It is best to harvest all herbs in the afternoon on a dry sunny day prior to blooming. This is when the plants have the most flavor and aroma. Herbal blooms are edible and can be used in cooking and food. Sprinkle them on salads, and summer soups, or use as garnishes.

• Cutting and pruning herbs is what keeps them healthy. If one doesn’t prune herbs they become spindly and die. Boyer suggests topping herbs like basil and rosemary. Never cut them to the ground. They have shallow root systems and will not survive. Prune the top buds of basil often, about a third of the way down to keep it bushy.

• Rosemary is a woody herb of slow growth so it needs to be lightly pruned, also at the tips of the plant buds. Cutting these herbs from the sides does not promote bushy growth, so always cut the tops.

• Thyme is also a low growing woody herb but can be pruned halfway down the plant. Never cut all the way back.

• Cilantro can be pruned hard to the ground, and it will return with lush growth. Prune cilantro often. Sometimes if it’s left to go to seed, it will return the next year.

Storing the harvested herbs is the most fun part, Boyer said. There are many creative ways to do this depending on whether the herbs are fresh or dried.

Fresh herbs can be cut and placed in plastic baggies and put in the refrigerator, except for basil. Basil is cold sensitive and turns dark and blotchy if stored in cold. So it’s best, for fresh use, to cut the amount you intend to use and place in a vase of water, much like a flower bouquet. They will keep about a week this way. Herbs will keep about two weeks in the refrigerator.

Another trick with fresh herbs is to cut them finely alone or in blends, like rosemary, basil, thyme and add a teaspoon of herbs to ice trays. Pour water in the trays on top of the herbs and freeze. After the cubes are solid, put them in freezer bags or containers and use for soups, stews and casseroles during the winter.

If herbs are dried by hanging bunches from a ceiling or laid in baskets, then the whole leaves can be placed in glass jars and stored in dark cabinets.

Sunlight destroys the flavor of herbs, so Boyer suggests drying them away from direct sunlight in a dark, airy place and storing them in the same manner. Save old mayonnaise and pimento jars to use as containers.

Summer herb chopped salad

3 spring onions, chopped

1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow squash, diced

3 or 4 cups lettuce or greens, chopped

8 to 12 cherry or small tomatoes, (heirlooms have great flavor)

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

3 teaspoons finely chopped lemon thyme leaves

1 chopped sprig of rosemary

one Toss all together adding a few lemon thyme blooms or any other herb blooms you like. Add a couple of tablespoons of your favorite white creamy salad dressing and toss to mix.